Pittsburgh Steelers: Thoughts on playing in London this season

This season the Pittsburgh Steelers will play their first ever game in London, England. The game will be played at Wembley Stadium and they will be hosted by the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL has been playing games in London since 2007 and this year the black and gold get to represent Pittsburgh overseas.

Recently Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took a visit to London. Roethlisberger visited London in an effort to promote the Steelers game that will be played there later this year.

“It’s something that is different and fun and guys are really looking forward to the game”, Roethlisberger told the media. Big Ben and Big Ben also took a picture together. Roethlisberger posed for a picture with the giant clock that shares the same name as him. The picture has become very popular among fans.

Roethlisberger also visited Ireland where he was with Dan Rooney, who is the former United States ambassador to Ireland along with being the Steelers’ chairman. Roethlisberger was the official coin flipper for the Fourth of July flag football game that Rooney hosts.

Another Steeler that is planning to travel to London is guard Ramon Foster. Foster will be promoting the game in London just as Big Ben did. Foster will also be joined by the likes of Vikings’ defensive end, Jared Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive lineman Unche Nwaneri and San Francisco 49ers safety Donte Whitner. All of these players’ teams will be playing London this upcoming season.

What will be interesting to see is how well represented Steeler Nation will be for the game in London. Steeler fans are some of the best when it comes to representing the team at away games. This away game is a bit further away than usual though.

Giving London fans a chance to watch NFL games is a good idea, but at the same time it’s discouraging to fans here in the states because it does take away at least one potential home game for Steeler fans or Vikings fans. Though we should be able to sacrifice at least one game for fans in London, we Steelers fanatics love our team and would love another chance to attend a home game in our beloved steel city. However, the game must go on and it’s set to be played September 29th.

So what say you, Steeler Nation, are you packing your bags and heading to London to watch the black and gold?

About Ryan Petrovich

A proud Mountaineer at West Virginia University who is pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism. Correspondent for isportsweb covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and WWE. Assistant writer for the Associated Press covering WVU football. Former sports intern at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Staff writer for an entertainment website, The Black Sheep.
Follow me on twitter @RyanPetrovich